The Girl Who Looted Tomorrow

Some time later, Freya returned to the police station with Nolan and Rena.

They went straight to the third floor.

“This entire floor belongs to the Special Affairs Division,” Nolan explained. “This is where we usually work.”

At the end of the day, the members of Special Affairs were still police officers.

They worked in the same building as the regular police. Their duties were simply a little different.

Nolan led Freya into his office and began searching through a cabinet.

“I could’ve sworn I left it here. Where did it go… Ah, found it.”

He pulled out a sheet of paper and brought it over to her.

“Sign this first.”

Freya accepted the document and read it carefully.

The terms were fairly simple.

She was forbidden from revealing the existence of supernatural powers to ordinary people.

If she later drank a potion and gained supernatural abilities, she could not use those powers to commit crimes or act against the interests of the Special Affairs Division.

The agreement would remain in effect for one year.

Freya noticed that every word on the page had been written in gold.

When she looked closely, thin streams of light seemed to move through the lettering.

It was beautiful.

“This contract was created through the Law Path,” Nolan said. “Its terms are enforced by supernatural power.”

“Once you sign it, you won’t be able to tell an ordinary person about the supernatural world, even if you genuinely want to.”

Freya glanced up.

“Why does it only last one year? Does that mean I can tell anyone I want after that?”

“No. It means the supernatural power inside the contract will fade after a year.”

Nolan shrugged.

“You’ll have to sign another one when that happens.”

That was a surprisingly simple explanation.

Freya picked up the pen without hesitation and signed her name.

The moment she finished, she felt something enter her mind.

It was as though a golden lock had formed somewhere inside her consciousness.

Freya had no idea whether signing the contract inside a simulation would affect her real body.

Even if it did, the terms only required secrecy and prevented her from using supernatural powers to do anything terrible.

That did not seem like a serious problem.

More importantly, the hidden supernatural world was finally opening before her.

This was her chance to learn as much as possible.

Once Freya had finished, Nolan took the contract and stored it away.

“I know you’re currently studying at Kordo National Academy,” he said. “But from now on, you’ll report here every day after class.”

“If something happens and the division needs you during school hours, you’ll take time off and come here. Special Affairs takes priority.”

He continued, “I’ll also need to determine which Path and potion are most suitable for you.”

Nolan sighed.

“Though our options are limited at the moment. I believe the only potions we currently have are for the Law Path and the Fate Path.”

“Rena drank our last Mind Path potion.”

Freya looked puzzled.

“So whenever someone witnesses a supernatural incident and their memories are too strong to erase, you force them to join the Special Affairs Division?”

She paused.

“And you give them a potion too?”

Was that not a little reckless?

Nolan gave her a rough explanation.

Anyone whose memories could not be erased had to sign a supernatural contract.

However, contracts created through the Law Path were extremely valuable and difficult to obtain.

The division could not afford to use one merely to keep a civilian quiet, then send that person home.

As a rule, anyone who signed such a contract was recruited into the Special Affairs Division and given an entry-level potion.

The potion was actually worth less than the contract.

It did not matter what kind of person the recruit had been before.

For the first year, the contract forced them to work in the division’s interests.

Unfortunately, supernatural incidents were extremely dangerous.

In practice, many new recruits did not survive their first year.

A less considerate captain might have ordered Freya to leave school immediately.

Her future at Kordo National Academy would mean very little if she could not stay alive long enough to graduate.

“To be honest, I recommend the Fate Path,” Nolan said.

“It has less direct combat power, so you’ll be able to avoid most frontline assignments.”

“You would remain behind the others and provide support when necessary, much like Rena does. It would be safer for you.”

Freya nodded.

Now that she had a basic understanding of the supernatural system, she suddenly realized how powerful Future Simulation could become.

Suppose she drank the Fate Path potion during this simulation.

She could save that version of herself afterward.

Then, during her next simulation, she could repeat the same events but insist on choosing the Law Path instead.

Once that run ended, she could save that version too.

Would that not give her access to the abilities of two separate Paths at the same time?

She only had two save slots for now.

That did not mean she would be limited to two forever.

Systems like this usually allowed users to unlock additional slots.

If she gained more of them, she could enter repeated simulations and follow every Path one by one.

Then, in reality, she could summon more than a dozen saved versions of herself.

Each Freya would follow a different Path and possess different abilities.

Just imagining it was incredible.

Freya looked at Nolan, unable to hide her excitement.

“So when do I get my potion?”

“Don’t rush.”

Nolan looked her over.

“You’re too frail right now. You need to eat more and exercise.”

“I’ll teach you basic hand-to-hand combat and firearms training. Let me think… I’ll test you in one month.”

“If you pass, I’ll give you the potion.”

“What?”

The answer hit Freya like a bucket of ice water.

Her current simulation could last for no more than thirty days.

Even if she trained diligently and reached the day of the test, the simulation would end before she could drink the Fate Path potion.

Nolan had no idea what was going through her head.

“It’s already late. Go home and get some rest.”

“Come back after class tomorrow, and we’ll begin your training properly.”

Freya frowned slightly and left the office.

Rena was still waiting outside.

The guilt had not left her expression.

The moment she saw Freya, she lowered her head.

“I’m sorry.”

Freya quickly waved her hands.

“You don’t need to apologize. I actually like supernatural things.”

“But this really is dangerous,” Rena said.

“Captain Nolan is better than most. I’ve heard there are captains who don’t even bother keeping civilians away while they handle supernatural incidents.”

“If their teams don’t have a Mind Path practitioner, they can’t erase the witnesses’ memories.”

“So they simply bring those people back, make them sign a contract, and force them to drink a Law Path potion.”

“That gives them at least some combat ability on their first day.”

Rena’s voice grew quieter.

“Then they’re treated like disposable supplies and thrown into supernatural incidents as cannon fodder.”

“Whether they survive is left entirely to chance.”

“Captain Nolan is a good person.”

“That’s also why other teams might have seven or eight members, sometimes more than a dozen, while his team only has the three of us.”

Her expression turned troubled.

“That puts a lot of pressure on him. Now that the team has gained another member, I don’t know whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

After talking with Rena for a while, Freya returned home under the escort of a regular police officer.

The next morning, she skipped school again.

Her first destination was the hospital.

She wanted to visit Amy.

Not long after Freya arrived, however, she received the news.

Amy had lost too much blood.

The doctors had been unable to save her.